Off the Edge of Despair
by Jenna1
Summary: A really stupid fic about what would happen if there where a few changes in the plot-line of ffvii... ???
1. Default Chapter

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Off the Edge of Despair

Jenna Stiles

~~~*~~~

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Chapter 1: Starting the Journey

Tifa jumped off the speeding train closely and landed on her hands and knees. A large brown hand pulled her up to her feet. She smiled up at her enormous black friend, then seeing his gun-arm she shuddered the way she had every time she saw it.

"C'mon, Tifa, no time to stand around. We got a mission to do," he told her quickly as Biggs and Wedge jumped of the train as well as Jessie who easily landed on her feet.

As they ran towards the entrance of the reactor, Tifa looked ahead of her at Barret. While he seemed so confident and tough, there was something oddly mysterious about him. Tifa quickly shook that thought out of her head as two ShinRa fighters ran towards them.

"Get ready, you guys!" Tifa warned the others as she adjusted her gloves.

With a couple of strong attacks from the three of them, Jessie, Barret and Tifa easily defeated the attackers and arrived at place to put the bomb with Biggs and Wedge waiting right behind them.

"You do it, Jessie. You're the best at that kinda stuff. Hurry up," the big man instructed as the young woman confidently stepped towards the bomb.

"I'll set it for ten minutes. Yes, ten minutes should be perfect as long as we don't waste any time…" 

Jessie pushed a bunch of buttons while the rest of them watched her stupidly, impressed by the fast movements of her fingers pushing so many buttons that it seemed like all at once. She pushed one more button then looked up at the others and grinned happily. 

"All done, we've got- Over there!! Here comes a monster and by the looks of it, it won't be an easy fight!" 

Tifa turned to the direction Jessie pointed to and wasn't prepared when the robot-scorpion reached one of it's long metallic arm and swiftly knocked her to the ground. 

Barret saw the injured girl and fired at the machine, doing enough damage to distract it from the girl but not enough to defeat it. Tifa quickly got to her feet and with the anger rising up in her, prepared herself and ran towards the enemy. Thinking of her friends, she kicked the scorpion and caused it to fall to the ground for a bit before Jessie raised her arms and cast a bolt of lightning and the machine. 

With a electrifying cry, the enemy fell to the ground and never got up. For a split second, all eyes were on Jessie who started running towards the door screaming to hurry up.

As the group called AVALANCHE ran through the entrance gates, they fell face-forward as the reactor behind them exploded sending an enormous blow to all of them. As they got up, Tifa looked back at the burning building that was soon to be no more and sighed sadly. She remembered the others and put on a fake smile, 

"Well, I guess that means that there's only seven more to go before the Planet's safe again!" She turned then looked back and added, "Meet you guys back at the base!"

~~~*~~~

As Tifa reached Sector 7, she saw Barret shooing off some customers in front of her 7th Heaven, the only place in Midgar where she could actually get comfortable.

She smiled as she approached her friend, "Hey Barret! You're scaring off the customers! Let's get inside so we can get some rest, c'mon."

Following her, Barret mumbled something about "that's the whole point". Tifa keep smiling as she entered her bar and saw the other three members of AVALANCHE sitting around the table. Biggs was so drunk that Jessie had to keep him from jumping on Wedge for stealing the rest of his beer while Wedge drank the beer in his hand. Jessie finally gave up as Biggs managed to jump on Wedge and steal a sip of his beer.

"Biggs! Don't even think about it! Your beer is right THERE!! Wedge, STOP teasing Biggs!! Come on you guys! We've got work to do!! That's it! Take his coke if you want, see if I care! You guys are sooooo immature! I'm going to bed!!" After saying that, Jessie stormed downstairs and that was the last anyone talked to her all night.

"If you weren't so fuckin' drunk, Biggs, and if Jessie wasn't so god damn mad, we'd have our meeting. I'm goin' to see Marlene!" And he too left to go downstairs where his little girl was in bed.

Tifa walked over to the little elevator, turned and mumbled a "good-night" before going downstairs to get some rest as well.

"Hmpf!! Wha gaw into dem?" Biggs inquired politely as he took just a just a "little" sip of his beer.

~~~*~~~

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Whenever I'm in trouble, my hero will come and save me. Promise me.

All right, I promise…

Tifa woke up quickly at the memory and looked around her. Everyone was asleep without a troubled thought. Barret's arms were wrapped around his daughter as they slept soundly. The frown on Jessie's face had been replaced by a slight grin while Biggs and Wedge were nowhere to be seen.

She quietly got to her feet and started going upstairs when she heard a loud sound without words. The brunette turned quickly towards the sound. Her eyes scanned the room looking first at Jessie who was still peaceful, then Marlene whose face was nuzzled in her Barret's chest. She then realized what the sound was and almost laughed hard enough to wake everyone up. 

'I should have known, Barret always snores in his sleep,' Tifa thought with a slight smile, completely forgetting her dream.

When she realized that the elevator might wake everyone up, she started climbing the huge cable. And though her hands were burning, she refused to use the elevator, thinking of how mad Barret would be if she woke him up.

By the time she reached the top, her hands were stinging and her knees were red from all the climbing. As she crept over to the fridge, she saw Biggs asleep with his head on the table and Wedge laying on his back with a thick stream of drool coming from his mouth forming a large puddle on the wooden floor. 

Tifa put her slender hand on the refrigerator handle and pulled the door open. She stumbled back from the light coming from the fridge and blinked before reaching for the water. 

After Tifa had gotten her glass of water, she headed towards the door, stepping over her slightly large friend on the way. Opening the door, she noticed the stars above her in the night's sky. 

Painful memories flooded into her as she gazed up at the familiar stars. She walked over to the stairs and sat down. Her arms found their way around her bent legs and her headed tilted upwards at the sky. 

This time a face came to her mind. A boy. His blond sticking up all over the place while a few strands in the front caressed his pale face. His blue eyes intense with a slightly troubled look on them. 

But she didn't want to remember. No, remembering was difficult and it hurt too much. 

Tifa quickly got to her feet and walked slowly inside and back to her sleeping place.

~~~*~~~

Tifa woke up the next morning crouched in a little ball with her blankets wrapped around just like a little kid. As she lifted her head, she saw that everyone was already upstairs. Slowly getting to her feet, she stretched and heard laughing above her.

'Looks like today's going to be a good day after all. Seems that everyone's in a good mood this morning,' Tifa thought as she advanced toward the elevator, feeling a lot better than she had when she woke up. 

"Morning, sunshine, we've got a meeting downstairs before you open the bar. Breakfast?" she was greeted by Biggs as soon as she reached the top. 

Biggs was never affected by hangovers and seemed to be happy most of the time, even when he was supposed to be having a hangover. Wedge on the other hand rarely over drank and didn't bother hiding the fact that he was suffering. Every once and a while he'd put his hands to his ears and shout how much his head hurt and wonder why everyone wouldn't shut up.

"No thanks, I'm not very hungry right now," she answered Biggs, then she added, "Guess we'd better get started with the meeting now, right Barret?"

Barret was sitting with Jessie planning the next bombing mission with Marlene standing over him asking about this and that and Barret was more than delighted to answer. When hearing his name, he looked up and said,

"What? Oh, yeah. I was just thinkin' that. Everyone, down below."

Everyone got up and walked towards the elevator, though everyone had a different way off going it. Tifa went straight back downstairs sleepily while rubbing her eyes, while Biggs, who was right behind her, casually strolled over to the elevator while whistling a merry tune. And that really annoyed Wedge who was right behind Biggs. With his hands over his ears, he marched over to the elevator. Jessie looked around her at the things in the bar as she quickly walked over to the elevator, trying not to get to far behind the others. And Barret danced over to the elevator with Marlene sitting on his shoulders, laughing. 

He really was a different man when he was with his daughter. The usually loud man was gentle and carefree with the little girl and loved to tell her things, while never answering in the same happy way to anyone else who asked him anything. Except maybe Tifa. Though they had not known each other very long, Tifa and Barret had grown very close during their journey.

When everyone was downstairs and settled, Barret stood up and started talking.

"Okay, everyone, we did fine on that mission but you wusses will have to get in shape for our next mission if we want to get outta there without getting' hurt. We're doin' alright for now but if we're gonna save the world we're gonna have to find some help. There's no way I'm gonna let us get our asses kicked tryin' to save the planet jus because we didn't get any help." 

He paused and looked around at everyone daring them to disagree with him. Then a smirk suddenly appeared on his face,

"But we did show them who's the better man," he said as he pointed to his chest, "Anyways, our next mission will be almost the same as this one, 'cept we'll have to do it faster than before, I almost got burnt to a crisps 'cause of you clowns. So we get the next train to the reactor and act as casual as possible. Get your stuff an' we're outta here!" he shouted the last line with a smile on his face. 

"What about me, papa? What am I going to do while you and Tifa are gone?" Marlene was the first of anyone else besides Barret to talk. 

When he remembered her, he looked down and said very seriously, "Hmmm… I hate to leave ya all alone while I'm gone but I'm gonna hafta since I don't trust anyone 'round here. Marlene, you're gonna hafta be very brave while Daddy's gone. Be a good girl."

~~~*~~~

Author's notes: So, is it alright? I'm kinda nervous and all because I'm hoping people will like it and that it won't be a big flop. The story's starting to show it's plot and I love writing Biggs. I didn't think that it explored Jessie, Biggs and Wedge's character enough in the game, so I'm writing them. I really liked writing it, though. I guess I don't seem like much of a writer, huh? Blabbering on like I do sometimes. I sometimes make no sense at all… So, chapter 2 will be little while but I'm hoping to have it up by Halloween, but it's gonna take time with school and all. But I'm hoping. Till later! Any comments, email me or sign my GB, I don't really hate them anymore.

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	2. Chapter 2 - Meetings

Chapter 2: Meetings

~~~*~~~

"Oh! I'm sorry!" the pretty brunette in the pink dress apologized as she bumped into the young man, "Here, tell you what. I'll give you a special on a flower to make up for the trouble. Only 1 gil. Here take it."

The young man looked down at the girl and frowned in thought. Who was this girl and what is she doing in a place like this, in the middle of the night? Surely she couldn't be from that rebel group, AVALANCHE. He had been told he would see a beautiful young girl from AVALANCHE here along with several others on their way to the Reactor. He looked around. No, there didn't seem to be anyone with her.

'She sure is pretty, though. I wonder what she's doing here.'

"You don't talk much, do you? You haven't said a single word, you just keep looking around. Are you all right? Are you hurt? I didn't think I hit you that hard I can-"

"I'm fine," he interrupted her sharply. The girl stumbled back in surprise at sound of his voice.

She had assumed that he was mute but by the sharpness of his voice, he seemed all right, just like he had said. Yet his voice sounded a bit familiar, though. He seemed a lot like _him._ There was an odd sense of loneliness, no, emptiness in this man. She wanted to know more about him.

"What's your name?" she asked him quietly.

He thought for a moment, considering whether or not to tell her. Yet as he looked into her mysterious eyes, he felt he could not lie to her. 

"Cloud. My name's Cloud," he told her a bit awkwardly.

"I'm Aeris. I live down there," she pointed towards Sector 5, "I sell flowers to the people of the slums. It's hard to find flowers around here so it's a special treat to get one."

"It's dangerous here, you'd better go," Cloud told her suddenly, remembering his mission, "And I've got work to do."

"I can handle the Slums. What's going on that's so dangerous and what do you do?" Even though she asked this, Aeris already had an idea where he worked by the uniform and by his intense blue eyes.

"Do you always ask so many questions? What I do is my personal business and you really should go." He hated to sound so cold but he couldn't tell her the real reason why he was here. 

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. I just thought that since I had told you what I do, you could tell me what you do but I guess selling flowers isn't really a job. Well, I guess-" Aeris was interrupted by a huge explosion at Reactor 5.

Cloud turned quickly towards the explosion with his eyes wide with terror. He stood there for a couple of seconds then cursed under his breath and took off towards the explosion without another word to Aeris.

And by his reaction, his suspicions were confirmed for where he worked.

'ShinRa. I'll find you, Cloud, and don't worry, I'll help you.'

~~~*~~~

Cloud raced through the streets pushing scared citizens out of the way as he drew his sword, ready to meet the rebel group. Swinging his head around to look for the enemies, he saw a small girl crying over her father who had been badly injured by the explosion. A pang suddenly hit him and he remembered a flash of a memory that he could not identify but he quickly pushed the thought out of his head as he saw a group of strange people running from the explosion.

'They're early, but that doesn't matter,' he thought with a slight smirk. With his huge sword in front of him, Cloud ran towards the fleeing group. 

"Stop!" He shouted as he stopped in front of a large black man.

"[!@#t! C'mon, give us all you've got, spike head,][1]" he spat at the attacking SOLDIER that had to be at least 15 years younger than him. 

Cloud frowned at the man and looked around him. They're were 5 of them all together. He looked at each one slowly, trying to identify their fighting skills.

Jessie saw the strange man's eyes upon him and looked back into his searching eyes. He seemed to be searching her as if try to read her mind or learn her secrets. She quickly thought of other things so that he wouldn't know what he was thinking but even though she was being extra careful to hide her thoughts, she did it in vain for the young couldn't read her thoughts. 

'She might be more of a problem then it shows, better watch out for her.'

Next his eyes fell upon a fairly muscular man carrying a regular gun. 

'No, he won't be much of a problem, his eyes show too much laughter. He'll be an easy enough target.'

Then he saw a short, pudgy, little man and almost burst out laughing. He carried no weapon and was looking around like a scared little puppy. 

'What a group this is. It's a wonder they were able to destroy 2 reactors.'

Finally, he spotted the beautiful young woman that he had been told about near the back. She really was beautiful but Cloud could sense a bit of familiarness about her. She seemed to be getting her gloves on and didn't notice him. He was even more surprised when he realized that he didn't want her to see him, that she would somehow think less of him if she saw him. 

'What's gotten into me, who cares if she sees me?' But he didn't need to be answered because he already knew the answer. She will care.

Cloud saw the girl finishing putting her gloves on and cast sleep on the girl. No, she wouldn't see him and he sighed with relief. This seemed to let the others know that it was time to start the fight. The big man with the gun-arm seemed angry by this and called to him,

"You cheap bastard. You're the kinda person that makes this world as this way it is. I'll show ya a thing or two about real fighting."

As he said the last line, the big man lifted his arm and took several well-aimed shots at Cloud doing a large amount of damage to the blond man. Cloud was surprised at how much damage these few shots did to him. It seemed he had underestimated their power. 

The short muscular man stepped forward next and punched him several times in the stomach. Cloud was about to attack when he saw the girl with the dirty-blond hair step forward, holding up a gun and a bright laser shot out of it. The laser quickly advanced towards him and in the split second before it went through his stomach, he looked up to the starry sky.

~~~*~~~

"C'mon, let's get the hell outta here," Barret said as he took the sleeping beauty into his arms and shook his head, "Damn man, hope he never wakes up."

Jessie looked down at the fallen man then looked over at Tifa and said, "He didn't seem as tough as he looked. That man seemed to have some sort of hidden secret. I wonder who he is and why he took Tifa out, first. If I were him, I'd have put you to sleep, Barret. You're by far the best fighter of us all. But I don't know about him. I don't think he put her to sleep just because of the fight. He seemed to look her over a lot before he put her to sleep. Maybe-"

"Maybe he didn't want her to see him or maybe he thought she was pretty an' didn't wanna hurt her or for to get hurt or maybe a million things. Who knows what was on the guy's mind when he attacked her but this isn't the place to think about that, girl," he interrupted her, "Anyway, like I said, we'd better go. Now."

Biggs and Wedge had been in some sort of trance while staring uneasily at the body of their attacker. So when they heard Barret's pushing voice, they seemed to jump out of their skin but quickly recovered. 

"Yeah, you heard the man, Wedge. C'mon!! Let's get back to the bar and celebrate a job well done!!" Biggs cried happily as he raced back towards the bar, "We'll stop in an alley and wake Tifa up. I don't think we should carry the whole way home. She'd be mad if she thought that she'd slept through everything. We'll tell her she'd only been asleep for a little while."

The others raced after him while Cloud's motionless body lay at the spot of the fight, not to be easily forgotten by the members of AVALANCHE. 

As they reached an alley, Barret gently placed Tifa on the ground and asked,

"Now, how are we supposed to wake 'er up? Here, Wedge. Give her a little slap on da leg. You hit the weakest of us all so she won't get hurt if you do it."

Biggs snickered as the chubby man stepped forward and gave the sleeping girl a quick slap on the thigh. Almost immediately, Tifa's head turned a little to the right and her eyes slowly opened. She looked up and saw Barret grinning down at her. She slowly stood up while brushing the dirt from her outfit. Her lips formed a smile as well then she looked around her, then frowned.

"Where are we and what happed to that- that guy who attacked us. Did he get away, I didn't even get a chance to get a good look at him. What happened to him? Did I sleep through the whole thing?" she whispered the last line as if she already knew the answer but was hoping that she was wrong. 

Barret gave a slight chuckle and told her, "He's still out there if ya wanna see his skinny little body."

"Yeah, we ruined him. I don't think we'll get anymore trouble from him for a long time," agreed Wedge, joining in on the laughter.

Tifa looked down at her feet and asked again, though I it wasn't really a question this time, "I slept through the whole thing, didn't I? I must have or I would have remembered. " Then she looked up, grinned sloppily and said, "Well, we'll all remember this after we've saved the planet and laugh. Ha! I guess that you guys did a great job with that guy, I can tell that none of you even got hit. Well, we'd better head back to the bar and get ready for our next mission."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Tifa. Let's go," agreed Biggs as the group started started out of the alley and into the streets. 

As they walked through the lighted streets of Midgar, the successful reactor bombers joked constantly, except for Tifa who was feeling slightly depressed. 

It's easy to feel depressed in a place like Midgar, with it's polluted air and busy streets. The whole place was a dump. The occasional person would live like a king but most lived in the slums where everyone was poor and always smelt like garbage. 

'They seem to get by, though, I guess some people don't care if they have money or live in the slums as long as they have each other. That's the way it should be, but that's not what it's like for me. I'm a country girl and I can't be completely happy until I'm with the ones I love and the fresh wind is blowing through my hair. Oh, how I miss Nibelheim," Tifa sighed as she remembered her home, the mysterious dark mountains, the terrifying mansion, the well and the starry sky.

'Well, at least I can still sometimes see the stars.'

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted when she heard Wedge start to wail uncontrollably. She quickly looked his way and realized that she had been worried for no reason. Barret had heard him whisper to Biggs and Biggs had told Barret that Wedge had told him "that he acted like the president of ShinRa ". Barret had then threatened him and Wedge had started screaming like a newborn baby.

Tifa was about to let her mind wander again when she saw a beautiful young woman in pink walk by. She had seen many people walk by before but this girl looked like she was on some mysterious mission but not a mission like Tifa's, more of a personal mission. 

The young girl was already out of sight and Tifa shook her head, wondering what that girl's secret was. She had never seen a girl that seemed so determined. 

~~~*~~~

He could hear the laughter of children far away. 

Cloud slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was lying on a long bench. As he sat up, he touched his stomach lightly, remembering the events that happened earlier but he felt no pain and wondered how his wound healed so quickly.

For the first time, he lifted his head and looked around him at his surroundings. He had had no idea that he was in such a beautiful church and that the bench he was on was in fact a church pew. His eyes wandered all through the church, noticing beautiful little details, a wonderfully carved door, the wooden floor, the stone pillars but the most amazing thing was the bed of flowers.

He got to his feet and started walking towards the flower bed to get a closer look when he noticed that girl kneeling at the bed of flowers. It was her. Aeris. 

He watched her for a moment then asked suddenly, "What am I doing here?" 

Aeris had not noticed him standing there so at the sound of his voice she jumped and fell backwards. 

"Oh! Don't scare me like that," she scolded him as he held out his hand to help her up. Then the flower girl added as she got to her feet, "Thanks. I'm glad to see that you're all right… You are all right, aren't you? You look a bit… out of it..."

And Cloud did look out of it but he wasn't pale because he was feeling less than perfect but because he was so surprised to see Aeris. Of course, a church seemed like the perfect place to find her but seeing her and that she didn't despise him altogether.

"What am I doing here?" he repeated, although he longed to say something…nice, but it wasn't often that "nice" things would easily pass through his lips.

Aeris slightly frowned at the question as if she didn't like the thought of telling him, then she said, "I brought you here. I found you lying in a puddle of your own blood and I brought you here. I was surprised and angry to see you hurt like that so I use my magic."

"Your magic?"

"Yes, my magic. I think it's what you call a Limit Break. Whenever I get angry or sad about something I can use my magic." Then she paused and with hesitation asked, "How did end up hurt like that?"

Not wanting to answer the question, Cloud looked down at his feet and shifted from side to side. "I- I'd rather not talk about it." 

"Oh, I see. That's fine," she whispered, looking down at her feet as well in embarrassment. Cloud was the first to end the trance of foolish embarrassment by saying in rather hesitant voice that he'd better get going.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she whispered as she shyly looked into his eyes and as she did this, the young man's in front of her lips curved up as he smiled for the first time in a long time.

So without a word, Cloud was gone and Aeris was left thinking of the smile and how innocent he really was.

But sometimes people are wrong.

~~~*~~~

Author's note: Shhh….. Just pretend that this was finished in time for Halloween. Well, not, Tifa doesn't not have romantic feelings for Aeris, though that would be kind of funny! J No, just joking, it's not gonna happen in this story. Chapter 3 should be up in say, at the most, a month but I'll DEFINITELY try to have it up before then.

   [1]: mailto:!@



	3. Chapter 3 - The Fire Within

Chapter 3: The Fire Within

~~~*~~~

"Damn! ShinRa's already sent troops out to get us!" Cried Barret as he jumped up from his seat in 7th Heaven. "It won't be long 'til they get lucky, catch us and lock us up!"

"Hey! Barret! Calm down, old boy!" cut in the optimistic Biggs, "We can take them. You saw we handled that young SOLDIER man. He didn't even scratch us!"

"Um… Excuse me," Tifa quietly interrupted all of a sudden, "Maybe we should go downstairs. The bar's not closed yet and customers are staring. "

When hearing this, the other members of the terrorist group looked around them and sure enough, saw the keen eyes of drunken customers upon them. And after looking at Tifa sheepishly, Barret agreed that it would be best to head downstairs.

"Well, um… Yeah… Uh…" cough, "Let's get down below!"

So the whole group headed downstairs for the hundredth while they walked the way they walk.

Wedge was the first to reach the basement followed by Jessie then Biggs, Tifa and finally Barret while Marlene stayed above to kept the bar.

The five of them were soon settled down when Barret suddenly blurted out some unintelligent plan, "Ok. This is what we're gonna do. We're gonna bust our way into the ShinRa Headquarters and Jessie place a bomb jus' like we always do in the reactors. We'll set the timer for fifteen minutes and get outta there as fast as our legs'll carry us. We should be at Midgar gates by the time they figure it was us but the god-damn Mr. President will be dead and we'll go to some far away country unnoticed!"

By saying that he earned quizzical looks from the others while he laughed uncontrollably at his wonderful plan. 

"Oh. That might work, Barret," Tifa humored him slowly before she started telling _her plan_. "But I think I've got a better plan. Listen, I heard some guys talking on my way back here from our first bombing mission."

"Yeah, so. Oh, wait. They were talking about how to save the world or how we could escape the ShinRa, manage to stay alive or better yet, they were saying that they could do it for us!" commented Wedge sarcastically before adding in a whiny voice, "We don't stand a chance! We're doomed! Doomed I tell you!"

"What did they say, Tifa?" asked Jessie, ignoring Wedge, "It will help us won't it, Tifa? Everything's going to be just fine, right? Just tell us the plan, ok?" 

Everyone was growing uneasy by the second. They were all scared to death of the consequences of getting caught.

"Well, I'm not too sure if it will help us get the ShinRa off our backs but it will help us get back at them," responded Tifa while thinking of all the possibilities of her plan.

"Tifa, can you please tell us? Please, pretty, pretty please?" begged the curious Biggs, then added, "With a cherry on top?"

Barret, who had been sulking during the whole conversation suddenly spoke up, "Tifa, can ya tell us your wonderful plan or we'll have to do my plan. And plus, Biggs id getting' all whiny an' stuff. You know how irritating he can get. So tell on, Tifa."

"I do NOT whine!" grumbled the most insulted Wedge.

"Yeah, sure, Wedge," dismissed Biggs, "So, Tifa…"

Before responding, the anxious girl took a deep breath, looked down at her feet then slowly looked back up at the others who their eyes set upon her.

"Well… I can't be exactly sure but I think that they said something about ShinRa. From what I heard those men worked for some Don Corneo," she started to explain.

Before Tifa could continue, Jessie inaudibly mumbled something that could not be heard.

"Say what?" Biggs had to ask while turning to face Jessie and saw her start to blush furiously.

"Don Corneo," she repeated shakily, "He's that awful, no, repulsive excuse for a man. He's a horrible, disgusting, terrible, corpulent, foul, indecent, _appalling_-"

"Whoa! Get a hold of yourself, Jessie-baby," interrupted Biggs with an unnatural from carved on his concerned face.

The room was suddenly very quiet as all eyes were glued on the shaken Jessie. Biggs, who was always the happy-go-lucky that everyone knew and loved, felt neither happy or lucky, though everyone was blinded to that fact as they were focussing on Jessie. There was something very unsettling about the way Jessie had acted a minute ago.

What could have upset the girl so much that she would say something that was so unlike her? A trembling, frightened child with the eyes of a demon and a heart of fire had replaced the quiet, responsible young woman.

No one could think of a logical explanation to why their beloved Jessie would react in such a way to the mere mention of a name. 

"Jessie…" Biggs quietly broke the silence spell cast upon the room but Jessie didn't seem to hear him. Barret looked uneasily at Biggs then back at Jessie.

"Jessie." Barret tried as well in vain. Jessie had no ears for anyone. Her battle was within.

Don Corneo.

The disgusting name pounded insanely in her mind, like a giant hand knocking on a door that would never open.

Don Corneo.

That name meant so much, yet so little to the young woman. Those two words awakened the sleeping fire within her.

Don Corneo.

Nothing could ever repair the damage that he'd caused her.

"Jessie."

No. She never wanted to hear his name again. She couldn't think of anything else. His name would be forever engraved in her heart.

"Jessie."

She'd forgotten him only to have his memory awakened by the simple mention of his name. 

"Jessie." 

To eliminate the pain, you have to destroy the source.

I"Jessie!"/I

Someone was calling her.

Someone Iis/I calling her.

Someone. Biggs… Biggs! Biggs is calling her! 

The tormented girl quickly tried to shake the disturbing thoughts from her head. She had to face reality…

"Jessie, please listen to me," for the first time, she could see Biggs calling her. His brow was knitted and his face showed all the concern that he felt inside.

"Biggs!" she suddenly cried as she exploded in uncontrollable sobs and threw her arms around his neck. She felt him tense up at her touch but she wouldn't let go.

After recovering from the initial shock of having Jessie throw herself at him, Biggs timidly hugged her closely.

"It's all right, Jessie," he tried to sooth her as she buried her face in his chest and continued sobbing.

~~~*~~~

Wedge, Tifa and Barret all gaped at the scene in front of them. To them, it was a bigger shock to see Jessie's last outburst than see her in that insane trance she was in. Even more, they had never seen Biggs act so gentle, so caring as he did at this moment. It was truly amazing.

They had never seen Jessie so miserable and frightened. Never had they seen the two of them so close. Biggs and Jessie rarely seemed to have a whole conversation together, let alone show this much feeling. It could have just been that Biggs was the first one Jessie saw when she escaped her internal battle and Biggs might just have responded in that way because he wanted to calm her and get on with life. However, that didn't seem like the case.

It was all just a big shock, for everyone.

~~~*~~~

She never wanted to let go. For just a few bewildering minutes, Jessie was at peace. If only it would last…

Out of the blue, a face appeared in her mind. The angelic, tear-stained face of a woman haunted her head. Her lined face appeared well beyond her young age, caused by years of unbearable grief. Her brown hair frizzled and with a shake of gray, fell from a loosely tied ponytail in an effort to keep the hair from her face. In her eyes, one could see the loneliness and hurt of a woman that lost almost everything. Just as quickly as the face had appeared, it had disappeared. 

Jessie immediately recognized the face. In fact, it only took her half a second to study every feature on the woman's face; they all meant so much. Of course they meant so much, didn't everybody's mother mean so much?

However, Jessie had no time to dwell on these thoughts because another face appeared in her mind, this time of a man. On his loathsome face was a sinister grin and eyes that had never shown pity, mercy or love. His hair or what was left of it, shown like gold. This face was in fact the very face of the cruel Don Corneo.

He was laughing. He was laughing at her, at her mother and at the poor souls in the slums. He just wouldn't stop laughing; his laughing face was glued in her brain. Jessie never thought that his face would disappear but everything has an end and this was no exception… So all of a sudden, all she saw was the Biggs' white muscle shirt.

Biggs' muscle shirt? It was no longer Biggs' comforting chest; it was that vulgar man's over-sized chest. How did that happen? Where was Biggs?

Jessie immediately pulled away from her imaginary Don Corneo, leaving Biggs startled and confused. He frowned slightly at her sudden impulse but he was not vexed.

'This is definitely not like Jessie,' mused the 22 year-old man in thought. Still thinking this, he took a cautious step towards the girl.

"Get back!" Jessie protested at the slight movement in front of her. 

That didn't seem to stop the man, however, it only made him think before taking another step. Biggs lifted his arms at head level as if to show that he had no weapon and would not harm the girl. To him, it seemed the girl had calmed down a bit, so he took yet another step forwards.

" I told you to stay back!" Jessie sobbed as she pulled her laser gun from it's holder on her belt, "Don't take a step forward or I'll shoot, I swear I will!"

Poor Biggs had no idea what could be going on. This was absolutely impossible! There was no way to win but he had to keep trying. He'd never known Jessie to threaten any human being except possibly a member of ShinRa causing pain to others. The sweet girl had never once shown any sign of hatred towards anyone except for ShinRa, least of all one of her friends. Jessie had always been kind to Biggs, though they rarely talked alone. He was suddenly afraid of her. 

Jessie, on the other hand, had completely lost control. She was crying, yelling, there was no way to tell what emotion would show next. They were tearing her apart inside, making her push the others aside when all she really wanted was for them to comfort her.

There were two parts to her, both fighting for possession over her body. The part that was most obvious was her anger, her pain, her fear; they showed most and were frightening to anyone who dared to study her. This is the part that saw Don Corneo in Biggs and loathed everything about him. Buried deeper down inside of her, more emotions completed this part. This was the opposite, like the sun and the moon; these were her more precious feelings that weren't as apparent. Her desires for comfort, the need of love and the unbearable loneliness though friends surrounded her. These ate away at her, forcing her to raise her shield of anger. Though nobody knew, these emotions had started everything.

The other part of her was the desire to get better, to recover from this emotional catastrophe. It was hungering at her and would slowly begin to surface. She wanted to tell her friends everything, about her mother and about Don Corneo. This part didn't want to block out the rest of her emotions but to mix with them so that she could feel any way she wants. These emotions wanted so badly to win the war but in the end, who knows who'll win. 

~~~*~~~

As Jessie struggled with her emotions and Biggs stood at gunpoint, Barret Tifa and Wedge stood by feeling neglected and useless. This matter somehow seemed to be up to Biggs and Jessie to settle but things were starting to look really bad and they were completely lost on what to do. They were still stunned at Jessie and Wedge was trembling with fear.

Tifa had seen Jessie tremble when she mentioned Don Corneo's name, enter a perfectly still trance, explode into sobs and throw herself around Biggs. She saw her back away in confusion, and then she had seen Jessie raise her gun…

Tifa, bright and optimistic, had never expected this result when she started spilling out her plan. It had never occurred to her that Jessie's past might have some link to this Don Corneo's. This was the first time she had mentioned what she had heard to everyone and she couldn't help but to think that if she had told someone else first, this wouldn't have happened. Maybe she should have told Barret or Biggs? Yet, what difference would it really make? They both seemed as shocked as she did at the incident. Then again, Biggs seems to be more involved in this than anyone else except of course Jessie.

'How come she never told any of us? What's making her burn? Don Corneo? Was that what this is all about? I never should have told anybody what I heard; it was none of my business. This is all my fault,' Tifa thought in despair.

Barret was having similar thoughts; he also felt that he was to blame. But to differ from Tifa, his feelings were a little bit more professional. He couldn't help but think what would have happened if he, the leader of AVALANCHE, had planned the missions better. By doing this, he could prevent the desperation of a last minute plan, therefore preventing the need for Tifa to mention anything about that man. In other words, he doubted his ability as a leader. Isn't it funny that when we're most desperate, we blame ourselves.

The plump little man that had moved to the corner felt more useless than ever, his two best friends were struggling and he hadn't done a thing. Biggs was the best friend he'd ever had and Jessie was like an older sister. They were like an odd little family; no one could understand the way Wedge felt about them. Tifa and Barret were great friends but the just weren't Jessie and Biggs. Jessie always made sure that Biggs didn't hurt him too much when they were just playing. Biggs always teased him but he'd never hurt in physically or mentally. He wanted to do something, yet there they were, Jessie with a gun in Biggs face, he wish he could do what Jessie does for him, when she stops us from hurting our friends when we really don't want to.

"I'm so useless. I want to help them, I do. But I can't. I- I'm afraid."


	4. Chapter 4 - Bittersweet

__

Chapter 4: Bittersweet

~~~*~~~

__

The gun in Jessie's hand was trembling. That, Biggs could see. He'd had just about enough of this, he cared a great deal for Jessie and he knew this wasn't her fault. No, Biggs wasn't angry with Jessie, he was furious at that Don Corneo. It was true that he had never once met, heard of or seen the man but from what he was causing Jessie, Biggs could tell that they wouldn't turn out to be the best of friends. It was also true that he had no idea what was going on with Jessie, he only knew that it had something to do with Don Corneo and that it wasn't good news.

The moderately young man was also dying to know what exactly had happened to Jessie to make her this upset. He knew that she was upset because Don Corneo had done something awful to her and that she wasn't herself at the moment. But that's not what not what he cared most about at the moment. Right now, right here, he wanted to know what the man had done to her. How her past was linked to Don Corneo's and why she hated him. That was all he could think about and he knew he ought to be afraid of the gun at his head but he didn't feel scared. Biggs knew that Jessie wouldn't shoot him even if she _had_ lost her mind and besides, she seemed to be calming down.

Biggs thoughts were suddenly interrupted as Jessie dropped the gun in shock to the floor as if it were a snake. As his vision refocused and he entered reality again, just as might be predicted, Jessie fell to her knees like a rag-doll. She wasn't unconscious, or hurt physically, she seem to have just returned to reality as well and by the looks of it, reality frightened her.

With her eyes clenched shut and facing the floor, Jessie pleaded to Biggs in the most quiet voice, "Biggs, I'm sorry. Please, forgive me. I want you to help me, would you do that for me?"

Relief filled the room, felt by everyone except for poor Jessie. Biggs himself was surprised to hear that and couldn't help a little smile from crossing his lips. 

"Yeah, sure, Jessie-baby, _we'll_ help you," responded Biggs quietly, emphasizing the 'we' and hinting at others to say something.

"That's right, we'll do everything that we can to help," agreed Tifa.

"I'll not let one of my AVALANCHE members," Barret started before adding with a slight smile, "and one of my friends, get hurt. We'll help you all the way, Jessie!"

Wedge, who had been standing in the corner, took a deep breath and stepped forward, "I want to help, too. I never do anything. Everyone else has some big-important job to do but what do I do? I stand there waiting for you guys to finish the work and then come back here like I did the whole thing myself. No, I might not be able to fight like Tifa or Barret, make bombs and stuff like you, Jessie, or even cheer everyone up like Biggs but I can do this. I'll be there for you Jessie, whatever you want me to do, I'll do. I can't let you down, you're my _friend_." 

Everyone was astonished by Wedge. That, that was the most beautiful thing their little friend had ever said. Even Jessie looked up at him and gave him a little smile of thanks.

"Thank you, every one of you, but before you can help me, I have to tell you something," Jessie started as she wiped the tears from her eyes and sat down cross-legged. "What was the reason told you I joined AVALANCHE? Oh yes. Because I hated living in the slums and taxes were too high," she gave a bitter laugh, "Well, that's partly the truth. I _was_ sick of living in the slums but not the slums of Midgar. I meant my father's house. That's what I thought of as the 'slums'."

All eyes were on Jessie as she shifted positions and reached for a pillow that wasn't too far away. She was actually quite anxious to tell them about this. They had to know the whole truth. 

"That's okay, Jessie. I'm sure nobody is actually here because of the reason they said," offered Tifa soothingly.

"Yeah, we're glad you told us that," agreed Barret, slightly confused about her answer.

"But Jessie, what has that got to do with Don Corneo?" Biggs had just asked the question that everyone was just _dying_ to ask.

Again, all eyes were on Jessie as she took a deep breath and determinedly wiped the tears from her eyes that had almost stopped flowing. She looked directly at the young man standing before her and answered shortly, "Lots. You guys had better sit down, this is going to take a while."

No one said a word as the nonchalantly obeyed her order. Still, never did they look away from her but hers focused on nothingness.

"I wasn't born here in the slums but I've been here almost all my life. Since I came here, I don't think that I've left once," Jessie began before she was rudely interrupted by Wedge.

"Yeah, me neither. Except I've lived here all my life. Well, there was this one time…" he started before he too was interrupted.

"Wedge, will ya shut up! This is Jessie's story, you can tell your story later, if anyone cares," scolded Barret angrily, "Sorry, Jessie, go on."

And thus Jessie began her tale.

~~~*~~~

My mom was very young when she fell in love and got married. Her name was Richelle Joyce Solomon and it spoke for itself. She was dazzlingly beautiful, long, curly chestnut hair with, bright and teasing blue eyes and the most lushes lips you had ever seen. The seventeen-year-old girl was terribly naïve, no matter how old or mature she thought she was. Everyone could see that there was a bright future ahead for her, she could deal with anything electronic, exceptionally independent and did everything and got everything she wished. But pretty Miss Solomon had a curse that would ruin her; her curse was that she was excessively rich. This girl, beautiful and rich, was a dish to any man.

Men all through Midgar would fall for her, she charmed them all easily. But Richelle knew her tastes well; she liked older men and only older men. No one knew why the sweet young girl ignored the boys her age that desperately tried to win her heart. They would watch jealously as the 'little flirt' fell for men as old as 50 years. Her father couldn't do anything to stop her frivolous ways. At first, he thought it was all just a phase and she would settle down with a very nice young man but time proved otherwise. Richelle was as crazy for older men as always. Something about them seemed to fascinate her, maybe it was their maturity or sophistication but whatever it was nobody ever knew.

She was her father's 'little princess' ever since her mother had died when Richelle was just a toddler. Nevertheless, he spent hours on end at his work at ShinRa Headquarters, he, in fact, was _the_ Mr.. P. L. Solomon, on of the top lawyers for the young president himself. Phillip Solomon won case after case and after each victory he would buy a gift for his princess, whether it be a diamond necklace, a beautiful new dress or a little puppy. He had very good sense. My grandfather, however, forbade one thing and maybe that was the reason his daughter was so frivolous. Phillip Louis Solomon denied to his daughter the thing she wanted to do most in the world, he forbade her to date.

Some believed that was partly the reason that she enjoyed the company of older men, that she wanted to prove to her father that she was mature and no longer a child. But whatever the reason, Richelle had her mind set and there was nothing that could change it.

Now, you might think that she dated tons of older men but the truth is that Richelle never actually _dated_ any of them. She might have flirted constantly and went to dinner with them (but never alone) but she never dated them. Although Miss Joyce Solomon was full of spirit and as stubborn as her father, not even she dared disobey his strictest order. However that never stopped Richelle from doing everything in her power to convince her father to allow it.

It was late in January in the year of Richelle's 17th birthday that she met the man of her dreams. The youthful girl instantly fell for his dashing good looks and never-ending sweet talk. This man, though he was little less than twice her age, was full of enthusiasm and could charm people as easily as she. The man was a very successful merchant from some far-off country travelling to Midgar in some business affair. Richelle was completely fascinated by him.

The two would talk for hours and Richelle heard every word as if he were singing the sweetest song in the world. He would tell her the magnificent countries, Kalm that wasn't too far from Midgar, his hometown Costa del Sol and the enchanting city Wutai. 

The little 'princess' had finally met her prince charming, she could hear the wedding-bells in her head and she'd wake up every morning humming a happy tune. Richelle loved each day and as soon as her father left for work, she'd meet the older man and she'd tell her sweet-nothings.

On day, her acquaintance asked her to meet him in the church where they had always met. He began to tell her that he'd never met anyone like her, that she was really special. Then he told her that he was leaving in a week.

Poor Richelle's happiness had sky-rocketed at hearing what he thought of her just to fall when he'd said he was leaving soon. Suddenly however, he whispered something in her ear that would raise her spirits a great deal.

"How would you like it if people called you Mrs. Don Corneo?"

~~~*~~~

"Whoa!! Hold on a sec! Are ya tryin' to tell us that yer mom fell in love with that man you hate so much!?" shouted Barret in complete astonishment.

"Yeah! I thought you were going to say that that Don Corneo guy killed your mom. But she fell in love with him?" asked Biggs in agreement.

"You guys, if we don't let Jessie finish her story, we'll never know. We can ask questions later, right, Tifa?" remarked Wedge in a considerate but firm voice.

"I think you're right Wedge. Who knows, maybe she'll say no," Tifa agreed as she nodded her head, "Go on Jessie, we won't interrupt you again."

Jessie nodded her head as well then said, "Where was I? Oh yes. 'How would you like it if people called you Mrs. Don Corneo?'"

~~~*~~~

The young girl was completely dumbfounded. Was this man proposing to her? Sure, she had never felt this way about anybody in her life but they had only known each other of months. Even more, they'd never said one 'I love you' or gone on a single date for it was against her father's best wishes.

As soon as Richelle had regained her senses, she noticed that Don Corneo had taken her hands into his and was innocently looking into her eyes. It was then that she knew she loved him.

"I would very much like it," she had told him shyly.

Richelle went home that evening as if she were dancing on a cloud. Up the stairs she danced, into her beautiful room and onto her old-fashioned four-post bed. If anybody were to walk into her room at that moment, they'd see a beautiful seventeen-year-old girl with a smile on her face that seemed like it would last forever. 

Her happiness, however, was soon replaced by doubt when she remembered her father. Surely he'd allow her to marry Don if he knew how much she loved him. And if he met him, Don Corneo would charm Mr. Solomon, as well. But it soon dawned on her that she'd have to convince her father first.

~~~*~~~

When the great man arrived at his home that night, he had no idea what was waiting for him. In the kitchen, he found his daughter wearing his favourite dress and on the table was his favourite meal, shepherd's pie. Phillip Solomon knew his daughter very well so he could immediately tell that his only daughter wanted something.

As they were peacefully eating their meal, Richelle casually told her father about Don Corneo, telling him everything. She told him about the secret meetings, how she loved him and his proposal.

At first, the proud ShinRa lawyer was outraged that his daughter would do something like that behind his back. They continued arguing all night. Richelle was telling her father that she was _seventeen_ years old and he told her that she was only _seventeen_ years old. It would be quite amusing to see a very convincing lawyer and his equally convincing daughter argue for something.

Luckily for her, or rather _unluckily_, Richelle proved the victor and her father finally gave her his permission to marry this Don Corneo fellow.

"Don't you want to meet him, father?" she had asked.

"No," was the flat answer. Phillip Louis Solomon had very good sense and he knew that he wouldn't like this Corneo man.

~~~*~~~

Two weeks later, the newly wed couple moved to a very large villa in Don Corneo's hometown, Costa del Sol. At first, Richelle was very happy. She found out that she was pregnant with his child and was only too happy.

Things started going wrong when she told her husband about the baby. When he heard the news, he shrugged it off and told her that she didn't have to get so excited. For a little while, Richelle just thought that it was because it didn't like children but she soon found out otherwise.

It was true, Don Corneo didn't like kids but that wasn't the only reason he wasn't excited. Mrs. Don Corneo soon found out there were hundreds of reasons, the most important being that he just didn't care, about her or the child. 

Little by little, though she loved him dearly, Richelle learned that he didn't love her. She felt stupid, betrayed and hurt. Then one day, she asked him why he'd married her if he didn't love her.

"For your money, my dear. I was losing money and you had plenty. It also gives me a better reputation having you with me."

For your _money_, my _dear_…

_For your_ money, _my_ dear…

How could she have been so blind? She should've listened to her father. He always knew best…

For your money, my dear…

Money? That's all he wanted, it was so obvious, all of a sudden. He'd never once told her that he _loved_ her.

_For your money, my dear…_

That wasn't what hurt most, though. What hurt most was that she loved, correction, _loves_ him. She didn't want to divorce him, either, couldn't.

The next nine months were a living hell for poor Mrs. Corneo. Since he told her why he'd married her, he seemed to drop the act of being a good husband, he would always yell at her and even hit her.

When I was born, my mother was happy again for a little while. Don Corneo still abused her but she'd go see her little darling and find peace and solitude. I was her will to live. Little did she know that she'd soon lose that will.

Not even a year later, Don Corneo lost all his money to ShinRa in a bad business deal he'd made with them. If he didn't give him the money soon they'd put him in jail or even kill him. He started to panic and offered them the only things he had. 

_His house._ He would give them his house that was worth at least ten thousand gils.

__

His dignity. He would work for them in any way that they needed him, as a spy, a thief, anything.

__

And his wife. He would give them his beautiful young wife, though she wasn't worth too much, to be used for any purpose that the president wanted her for.

President ShinRa, the scumbag that he was, gladly excepted the offer. The next day, ShinRa SOLDIERS came to take away his wife, house and dignity. 

I don't remember it too well, but I think I remember Don Corneo was holding me carelessly as the ShinRa took away my screaming and crying. That was the last time I saw her. As they pulled her out the door she looked at me one last time with her face stained with tears and her hair with a little sprinkle of gray. She looked too old to be only nineteen. 

I lived with my _father_ for the next five years until I finally got up the courage to run away from home. I stole rides with strangers and ended up in Midgar. When I was ten I remember hearing that my mother had given birth to president ShinRa's child, Rufus, then killed because she had tried to escape with him. Gradually, the pain went away as the memory pushed to the back of my brain.

~~~*~~~

"Twelve years later, I heard of AVALANCHE, a resistance group against ShinRa and decided to join. You guys were so good to me, I just sort of forgot about everything except my hate for ShinRa until today. In a way, I'm kind of glad you mentioned it, Tifa. If you hadn't, then I never would be able to get my revenge, now would I?" 

~~~*~~~

Authours notes: Hahhahahaha!!!! Yessssssssss!!! Finally!!! I love shepherd's pie, that's why it's Phil's favourite. I've never read my stories over because by ther time I'm done writing it, I'm sooooo sick of it that I just can't stand it, that's partly while there are so many mistakes and stuff. Well, I wrote almost alllllllllll of this today and I'm soooooo glad it's done. It's was really fun though. Ha ha hah ahahah!!! Just when you think Jessie's fine she goes and says something insane!!!!! Mwah hahahahaha!!!! Ò_Ó


End file.
